It is so frustrating and sad that we have to deal with a continually increasing number of scams bombarding us by way of phone calls, email, snail mail, text messages – any and all manner of communication. Scammers find a way to target us. Unfortunately, it really has become part of our daily lives so too has staying safe from scammers.
I must receive a minimum of three calls every day from a scammer. I sometimes accept the call and sit silently while they hang up after a couple of seconds, and sometimes I let it ring out. To avoid missing a valid call, I am now adding the numbers to my contacts as I receive them and will know next time they call.
One time I actually called the scammer out by enlightening them to the universal energy called “Karma”. Of course, the person at the other end did not relate and hung up.
And the emails. If I do not access my emails every day, I literally have hundreds of scam emails to delete. And this leads to sometimes accidently deleting a valid and important email.
A recent very scary scam I have recently heard about is when sending customer invoices to clients, using the standard email program and PDF invoice. Although these days, we can connect directly with our customers accounting system, eg, MYOB and Xero, we are also emailing invoice PDF’s to our clients. The scam that is occurring is that the PDF invoice is being intercepted in the email program of the sender, the bank account details are changed on the PDF by the scammer, and the PDF invoice is then sent along to the recipient. Now, if this is a new client, the client will then pay the invoice according to the PDF.
This scam highlights the importance of checking bank details for each new supplier before you pay them, and by checking I mean, contacting them by phone or other direct means.
It is beneficial to both client and supplier to directly connect with each other’s accounting system to reduce or eliminate access to scammers.
Need to talk systems or with Xero, MYOB, Microsoft Office applications? Contact Elke on 0410 819 783, Email hello@miebs.com.au.
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